UNC battles again at Wake Forest in collapsing loss

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina missed three open points after three open points Tuesday night and ultimately couldn’t exorcise its recent road demons at Wake Forest.

The Tar Heels lost 67-66 to the Demon Deacons in ACC basketball at Joel Coliseum and suffered their fourth straight loss in that tie-dye building. It became a brutal experience plagued by an ineffective offense, with UNC barely surpassing its season low.

Wake Forest used a 12-0 run in the second half to take a 49-39 lead, injecting some energy into the home crowd. Carolina cut the deficit to 51-49 on back-to-back 3-pointers from RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau, with the Tar Heels finally splashing shots from beyond the arc. UNC missed on its first eight 3-point attempts to start the second half, falling to 3 for 22 from long range.

Later, UNC took a 54-53 lead on Jae’Lyn Withers’ 3-pointer. But Tre’Von Spillers’ offensive rebound and putback put the Demon Deacons ahead to stay with 4:48 remaining. And Spillers picked off a pass from big man Efron Reid, with Wake Forest leading 57-54.

Davis’ 21 points paced the Tar Heels (12-8 overall, 5-3 ACC), while Cadeau provided 14 points and 13 assists. Ian Jackson struggled to score seven points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field. Carolina finished shooting 40 percent on the night, including 8 of 32 from 3-point range.

Wake Forest (15-6, 7-1) earned its sixth straight victory, winning for the eighth time in the last nine games. Cam Hildreth scored 20 points and Hunter Sallis added 14 points for the Demon Deacons, despite shooting a combined 12-of-35 from the field.

Tar Heels on the rise after brutal back-and-forth first half

Carolina led 31-29 at halftime, having failed to build its lead despite crackling Wake Forest presenting numerous chances to do so. Hildreth hit a long turnaround jumper over UNC’s Drake Powell in the final five seconds of the first half to beat the shot clock and pull the Demon Deacons to within two before intermission.

These teams committed a total of 27 fouls and coughed up a total of 19 turnovers in what was a tough first half of sledding back and forth. Neither UNC nor Wake Forest connected with a shooting rate above 35.5 percent from the field. And the Demon Deacons struggled mightily, shooting just 29.6 percent from the field in their own building. Sallis and Hildreth, their two top scorers this season, were a combined 6 of 22 from the field at halftime.

Cadeau scored 10 of the Tar Heels’ first 16 points right off the bat in the first 6½ minutes of play. He shook off a ball screen and drove to the rim on a foul for a personal seven-point streak consecutive on three consecutive offensive buckets off the dribble. At that point, Carolina led 16-7 thanks to a 13-2 burst.

Later, Jackson exploded in transition and delivered the highlight of the evening. The freshman guard threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk over Sallis, sending shockwaves through that spot. Jackson got off to a good start from half court and baptized Sallis during the two lanky athletes’ flying encounter.

Next on the program

UNC hosts Boston College on Saturday at the Smith Center (2:15 p.m., CW Network), marking the Tar Heels’ fourth home game of the month. This is the only regular-season meeting between Carolina and BC, and it follows a crucial four-game stretch that includes three road assignments – at Pittsburgh (Jan. 28), at Duke ( on February 1) and at Clemson. (Feb. 10) — sandwiched around a visit from Pitt (Feb. 8).

Boston College (9-10, 1-7) fell Tuesday night at Virginia and suffered its fifth straight loss. The Eagles, who beat last-place Miami for their only ACC win this season, fell to 3-9 since Thanksgiving. UNC leads the all-time series 23-6 against BC, including 17-1 over the last 14 seasons. The Tar Heels are 21-5 against BC since the Eagles joined the ACC before the 2005-06 season.